03.30. The last night together

The last night together

During the meal with the twelve that night, Jesus took some water and a towel and began to wash their feet.¹ They were embarrassed at this, but Jesus was giving them important matters to think about. First, he was God’s perfect servant, the only one who could cleanse sinners, and he was about to do this by offering his life as a sacrifice. Second, if he, the disciples’ Lord, humbled himself by washing their feet, how much more should they, his servants, humble themselves by serving each other.

Jesus gave another graphic demonstration of the sacrifice he was about to make by taking bread and wine, part of the Passover meal, and using them as symbols of his own body and blood. His sacrifice would seal God’s promise of forgiveness and life to all who receive Jesus Christ. To this day, cleansed sinners relive all that Christ’s sacrifice means to them when they eat bread and wine together in an act of communion known as the Lord’s Supper.² On the occasion of the meal in the upper room, Jesus had much more to say to his disciples. This is represented in the teaching of John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33, to which is added the prayer of Jesus in John 17:1-26. The minds of the disciples, however, were in a state of confusion. Since the triumphal entry only a few days earlier, more had happened than the disciples could clearly grasp. Jesus knew they could not take in all he was saying, but he said it nevertheless, confident that after his resurrection and their reception of the Holy Spirit, they would recall his words and understand their significance.³

Earlier that night, the disciples learnt that one of the twelve was a traitor. The response of the others to this news was a mixture of disbelief, anxiety and confusion. It even led to an argument among them – not about who was the worst, but about who was the best!⁴ To be impressed with Jesus’ example of self-sacrificial service is one thing; to follow it, quite another.

1. John 13:1-16 2. Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 3. John 14:1; John 14:25-27; John 16:4-13 4. Luke 22:22-24; John 13:21-22; John 13:37

An ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem